The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Modern vehicles implement various software applications (hereinafter referred to as “applications”). Some example applications are a lane change application, a collision avoidance application, a ramp routing application, and a platooning application. A lane change application may be executed to assist a driver of a vehicle and/or control vehicle operation during a lane change event, which includes moving a vehicle from a first lane of traffic to a second lane of traffic. A collision avoidance application may be executed to prevent a collision with a pedestrian, a vehicle and/or other object. A collision avoidance application may detect conditions of an environment and perform countermeasures to prevent a collision. This may include, for example, generating warning signals, assisting a driver of a vehicle in performing certain tasks (e.g., braking), and/or controlling operation of the vehicle.
A ramp routing application is similar to a lane change application and may be executed to assist a driver of a vehicle and/or control vehicle operation when moving a vehicle from a lane of traffic to an entrance ramp or an exit ramp. A platooning application may be executed to assist a driver of a vehicle during a platooning event. A platooning event refers to when one or more “follow” vehicles are controlled to closely follow one or more “lead” vehicles. A follow vehicle may also be a lead vehicle. Each follow vehicle may draft a lead vehicle. This is done to reduce drag on the follow vehicle for improved fuel efficiency and to reduce vehicle congestion within a given geographical area. Platooning that is implemented in a first geographical area can reduce congestion in other nearby geographical areas.